-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- `` Do n't close your eyes , do n't close your eyes , '' a terrified Christopher Gamez chanted as he coasted 7,000 feet above South Padre Island , Texas , his heart racing .

One by one , Gamez watched as three people were `` sucked '' out of the plane and whipped violently into the thrashing winds and mist . `` Just put your head back and breathe , '' he told himself , seconds before joining the others .

But why would someone with a severe fear of heights willingly plummet from the sky ? To cross `` skydiving '' off his mental bucket list , of course .

Gamez was inspired to dream up his list of goals after watching MTV 's `` The Buried Life '' , a reality TV show about four friends who set out to accomplish the tasks on their joint bucket list .

The show , which wrapped its first season in March , has motivated many young adults to create such lists right now , rather than waiting until they 're about to `` kick the bucket '' like Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman 's terminally ill characters in `` The Bucket List '' or Queen Latifah 's supposedly terminally ill character in `` Last Holiday . ''

Gamez said he tuned in every week , but he knew he wanted to live his own version of `` The Buried Life '' five minutes in to the first episode .

`` If you had one day to live , what would you do ? '' a voice asks viewers during the show 's opening credits . `` Would you climb a mountain ? Would you kiss the girl of your dreams ? Would you tell someone how you feel ? Now , if you had a whole lifetime to live , would you lose that drive , or would your list just keep getting longer ? ''

'' -LSB- The guys on the show -RSB- inspired me and they pushed me to -LSB- go skydiving -RSB- , '' he said . `` To see them go out with no fear and do the things they wanted to do -- it made me want to do those things , too . ''

The show 's title was inspired by a 19th century Matthew Arnold poem by the same name .

The stars on the show -- Ben , Dave , Duncan and Jonnie -- decided `` The Buried Life '' summed up their concerns about getting bogged down with daily routine and losing their passion for life .

`` What do you want to do before you die ? '' became the premise for their new lifestyle and , eventually , the MTV series that allowed them to cross Number 53 off their bucket list : `` Make a badass TV show . ''

That list is under their control .

`` What they do and how they do it and who they contact and help -- that 's their decision , '' said Brent Haynes , a senior vice president at MTV , who first realized the project 's potential when he saw footage of the guys sneaking into the Video Music Awards to walk the red carpet .

Rather than arresting them , we gave them a TV show , Haynes joked .

Others like the guys ' ideas .

`` The more I watch ` The Buried Life ' and the more I 've seen them experience things , the more I 've wanted to do it , '' Megan Fulton said .

The 18-year-old Emory University student said she appreciates what the guys stand for .

In 2008 , Fulton 's friend died about three days after being diagnosed with an infection . The loss prompted Fulton and her friends to create a bucket list made up of kind gestures , long-term goals , personal achievements and travel destinations .

Some of the items , like pay for someone 's groceries and adopt a dog from a shelter , were crossed off rather quickly , she said . But goals like start a flash mob , travel to Lebanon -- from where Fulton and her sister were adopted -- and overcome her crippling stage fright , will be more difficult to accomplish .

`` If they can take part in a Krump -LSB- dance -RSB- competition , I think I can get up and say a few lines in front of people , '' she said . `` They 've really helped me and they do n't even know it . ''

One of Fulton 's favorite aspects of the show is that every time the cast members cross something off their bucket list , they help a stranger accomplish one of his or her own goals . For example , in the series finale , the guys help a young man who was adopted at birth find his biological father . Because Fulton was adopted , the episode meant a lot to her , she said .

`` You can actually care about people and still be cool , '' Fulton said . '' -LSB- It 's -RSB- a good trend to have caught on . ''

Just one bucket list was n't enough for 21-year-old Kevin Cheaney . The Michigan State University student wrote two -- one for specific goals he wanted to accomplish during 2010 and one for long-term goals .

Like Fulton , Cheaney was inspired to write a bucket list after his friend died suddenly in a motorcycle accident last summer .

`` It opened up my eyes , '' he said . `` Life is kind of short . ''

Though Cheaney has n't yet found the time to be someone 's hero , save someone 's life or race Germany 's legendary Nürburgring track , just writing the lists is an accomplishment , he said .

`` A lot of these things , like taking more pictures and visiting old friends , are n't going to be difficult , '' Cheaney said . `` They 're just going to improve me as a person and make me appreciate life more and really enjoy it to the max . ''

Celestine Chua , who has never seen the TV series , came across the bucket list concept while surfing the Internet in 2009 .

The 25-year-old from Singapore eventually decided to write her own bucket list , which she shares with the public on her Web site as a reminder to `` live every moment to the fullest when you 're in good health . ''

Despite already opening her own school for personal development in Singapore and starting an online talk show , Chua said she thinks No. 14 , `` experience true love , '' will be the most challenging goal to accomplish .

`` You might think -LSB- a bucket list is -RSB- just a list of goals , but if you 're really thinking about things you want to see , experience and feel before you die , then the whole concept of setting goals is totally different , '' Chua said . `` When we start thinking about what we want to do before we die , our goals become totally different . Fall in love , see the Empire State building . That 's the magic of the bucket list -- it removes limits . ''

Gamez agrees . That 's why he 's not ending his `` buried life '' with skydiving , which he said he would do again in a heartbeat , by the way .

Bungee jumping and riding a bull are next .

`` I 'm hooked , '' he said .

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`` The Buried Life '' follows four friends as they accomplish tasks on their bucket list

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The show has motivated many young adults to pursue their goals early on in life

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`` What do you want to do before you die ? '' became the premise for the MTV series